PLAYR-FIT CHAMPIONSHIP
QUEEN’S UNIVERSITY 2
CHAPMAN 18, AJALA 45
ARDS 2
E SCANNELL 76, REID 90+2
Rory McKee reports from The Dub
ANOTHER piece of individual brilliance from Eamon Scannell set Ards on their way to rescuing a point against Queen’s University on Saturday.
The Students looked on course to record their third win of the season over Ards having arrived at half-time two goals to the good on a drizzly afternoon on the Upper Malone Road. But a typically audacious effort from Scannell with a quarter-of-an-hour to go gave John Bailie’s team renewed hope before Kielan Reid forced home an injury-time equaliser for the Red and Blues.
Queen’s undoubtedly enjoyed the best of the early stages and could have gone in front on 10 minutes when Daniel Dillon’s header was deflected just over the crossbar.
The home side did find the breakthrough eight minutes later, albeit their opener had a large slice of fortune about it. Marc Matthews could only watch on helplessly as former Linfield youth player Charlie Chapman’s strike was sent looping over him and into the net via an Ards defender.
Ex-Ards goalkeeper Neil Shields then produced a smart save to deny Jack Martindale from halving the deficit with a back post header, before alert defending saw Eamon Scannell’s cross cut out in the nick of time as Jamie Browne was waiting to pounce.
Gary Donnelly scored a fine goal in the 3-2 defeat to Harland and Wolff Welders a week earlier, but his speculative effort after 36 minutes would have concerned the owners of nearby parked cars more than it did the Queen’s goalkeeper.
Ards were left with an uphill task when they fell further behind on the stroke of half-time. Larne loanee Ambrose Ajala made it 10 goals for the season when he turned in a free-kick from close range to put the home side in control at the interval.
John Bailie’s side forged the first opportunity of the second half, with half-time substitute Jack Reilly making an instant impact as he picked out Martindale on the left whose effort sailed narrowly wide.
A few minutes later the energetic Reilly tested the palms of Shields with a powerful strike, but the ’keeper was up to the task. At the other end Queen’s passed up a golden chance to make it 3-0. Ronan Young got on the end of a nicely worked move down the left but with the goal gaping, he failed to keep his shot down and Ards were still in it.
Reilly saw a header drop just over the crossbar after 72 minutes and moments after that Kielan Reid was inches away from heading home his former Bangor teammate’s cross.
Ards’ frustrations were beginning to grow but with just under 15 minutes to go captain Scannell propelled them back into the game. Spotting Shields off his line, Scannell let fly from just a couple of yards inside the Queen’s half as he added to his growing collection of now trademark lobs to delight the visiting support and spark the visitors into life.
The Red and Blues were now firmly in the ascendancy with Queen’s restricted to the occasional counter-attack. The home side did have the ball in the net with a minute to go but were denied by the assistant’s offside flag.
With strong appeals for an Ards penalty being waved away in the latter stages, it increasingly felt like not being their day. But in the second minute of stoppage time, the red and blue faithful were rewarded when Kielan Reid connected with a corner and his header slipped through the hands of Shields to complete the comeback.
Ards round off February by welcoming Ballinamallard United to Clandeboye Park this weekend (Saturday, 3pm). They will be without George Tipton for the match, who collected his fifth booking of the season at The Dub. Zach Barr is available again having completed his own suspension for five yellow cards.
Ards: Matthews, Maxwell, E. Scannell (C), Donnelly, Reid, Browne, C. Scannell, Gordon, Tipton, Mathieson, Martindale.
Substitutes: Reilly for Donnelly 46, Dobbin for Mathieson 56, Roohi for Browne 64, Simpson for Tipton 67. Not used: Taylor, Arthur, Carson.
Booked: Tipton, Gordon, Simpson.
Queen’s University: Shields, Mairs, Smyth, McKenna, Mulgrew (C), Young, Keenan, Chapman, Dillon, Conlon, Ajala.
Substitutes: Ovens for Dillon 59, Withers for Ajala 61, Bonnes for Young 86. Not used: Collett, Bonnar, Gawne.
Booked: Dillon, McKenna, Young, Withers.
Referee: Ben Shepherd
